We are proud to be partnering with Amacon at Milross Gardens to enhance the community space they created, in the empty lot beside the Cobalt Hotel on Main Street. The 6000 square foot garden holds about 150 plots that are rented by families or individuals looking to get their hands into the soil and grow some of their own food.

We are very happy to be part of the scene at this garden and to be working with a company that is excited about contributing to growing food, enhancing community and supporting the bees as well as our work!

We are in the process of converting the unused beds and perimeter of the garden into a vibrant Pollinator Meadow for the bees, the gardeners and the surrounding community to enjoy!

Milross Garden on Main

Apiary though the herb beds

Pollinator Meadow in process

We have planted an array of perennial pollinator friendlies like thyme, lavender, aster, sedum, chives, garlic, sea thistle, blueberry, yarrow, hyssop, cosmos, coneflower and borage, to complement the vegetables, herbs and flowers that the gardeners tend, and to keep food around for the bees all through the spring and summer into fall.

We’ve also brought in two honey bee hives to a little apiary overlooking the garden. We are hosting open community beekeeping workshops every Monday at 5pm and welcoming Milross gardeners and folks from the surrounding community into our hives.

We’ll also be hosting community workshop days though the summer, to decorate the fence, build seating with gardeners who have already taken the initiative to enhance their community with thoughtful things like shared benches, and learn about soil, mulch, hoop housing, water efficiency, pollinator plants, cover cropping, composting and more!

Through Amacon we’ll be collaborating with Tableau Bar and Bistro, The Loden Hotel and the Homer Street Cafe, working with their chefs and staff to bring everyone together a little bit more, through the bees and the garden.

It’s wonderful to meet people through the bees, so much knowledge gets shared and so many understandings can be reached when gathering calmly around a hive. This past Monday we quietly watched one of the queens searching for a cell to lay in. When she finally found the perfect cell, she arched her golden abdomen up and then down into it to lay. The workers all gathered around to touch her, much like we gathered around to observe, the workers spreading the queen’s pheromone through the hive, and our group whispering a quiet sigh, all of us sending the message that it’s all alright.